Mastercard Launches Digitally Connected Credential Offering Multiple Payment Options

Mastercard has begun rolling out a digitally connected credential that will allow consumers to pay with their choice of multiple payment options.

The new Mastercard One Credential can let consumers choose debit, installments, prepaid or credit, the company said in a Wednesday (Feb. 18) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

Users can set their payment preferences online or in an app, according to the release.

They can set preferences based on transaction type and time, per the release. For example, users can specify their checking account for expenses under $100, their credit card for expenses over $100, and installments for occasional larger purchases.

“Today’s consumers expect to be in the driver’s seat,” Mastercard Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert said in the release. “That’s what sparked One Credential. It gives people an innovative way to pay that’s truly personalized to them.”

One Credential was designed with Gen Z consumers in mind, though the personalization the solution offers will appeal to other generations as well, Lambert said.

For issuing banks, One Credential offers a differentiated offering that provides payment experiences that are digital and personalized, as well as tools for planning financial futures, according to the release.

Mastercard also plans to roll out One Credential for small businesses, allowing them more choice of how to pay, the release said.

One Credential has key customers and partners committed to bring it to consumers, and the solution is already live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with digital banking platform Wio Bank, per the release.

“Being first to market with Mastercard’s One Credential allows us to deliver exactly what our digitally native customers demand — complete payment flexibility and control at their fingertips,” Wio Bank Chief Commercial Officer Prateek Vahie said in the release.

Consumers expect personalization, Mastercard SVP Offers, Loyalty Jill Moser told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted Feb. 5

Mastercard’s own studies found that 70% of individuals expect a “more personalized experience tomorrow than they received yesterday.”

Convenience-focused consumers would like a single platform — an “everyday app” — that consolidates their daily digital activities, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Consumer Interest in an Everyday App.”

The report found that 59% of U.S. consumers and 37% of Australian consumers cite seamless payment integration as a top benefit of using an all-in-one app.